This invention relates to the field of vehicle covers and more particularly to a vehicle cover which is weighted for protecting the passenger cab of a vehicle.
Many vehicles such as passenger cars or trucks may be parked outside in inclement weather for certain periods of time. In order to protect the vehicle, vehicle covers are frequently used.
One such vehicle cover is disclosed in the 1990 patent issued to Herron. This protective vehicle cover completely covers the vehicle and is secured about the vehicle by means of an elasticized lower perimeter.
A variation of covering the entire vehicle is found in the 1990 patent issued to Yeh. This vehicle cover and method of making the cover involves securing a cover on the top, front and back and sides of the vehicles, commonly known as the passenger compartment. The Yeh patent is attached to the vehicle by means of fasteners fixed to the panels and extending across the corners to secure the covers. One disadvantage of the Yeh patent is that it requires installation on the vehicle itself and is not, as such, self-contained.
Securing the vehicle cover to the vehicle has been a problem and the subject of several patents in the recent years. The 1992 patent issued to Jones utilizes a cover with hold-downs consisting of bottles tied to the lower edges of the cover. The bottles are filled with some sort of weight and are then attached to the vehicle cover. One of the problems encountered with this device is the bulky and inflexible nature of the containers as well as the possibility that the weights will be lost when they are disattached from the vehicle cover itself.
It is an object of this invention to provide a lightweight, foldable vehicle cover for passenger cars and trucks. It is a further object of this invention to provide a lightweight cover having compartments near the lower perimeter of the cover for placing weights. It is a still further object of this invention to provide a lightweight, weighted protective vehicle cover in which the weights used to keep the cover on the car or truck may be filled or emptied depending on the weather conditions and the necessity for periodic use of the device. A still further object of this invention is to provide a cover such as described above wherein the weight of the cover may be dispensed by means of a plug so that sand, gravel or other gritty substances may be deposited on the roadway in an emergency.
Further and other objects of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following Specification.